RI PTA aims to help take the mystery out of Common Core

Jen Cowart
Posted 12/4/14

The Rhode Island PTA recently held a parent forum at Aldrich Junior High School in Warwick for those parents in school districts all across the state who may be looking for answers about the Common …

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RI PTA aims to help take the mystery out of Common Core

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The Rhode Island PTA recently held a parent forum at Aldrich Junior High School in Warwick for those parents in school districts all across the state who may be looking for answers about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Although the free event was sparsely attended, those who were present came with questions of their own, and listened intently to the presentations from the on-stage speakers.

The speakers’ backgrounds in education and knowledge were diverse. Present were Dr. Phyllis Lynch, director of instruction, assessment and curriculum for the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE); Kathy Almanzor, director of curriculum, assessment and professional development for the Jamestown Public Schools; Carolyn Taylor, special education administrator and Title I coordinator/principal in residence at the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP); and MaryAnn Snider from RIDE’s Division of Educator Excellence and Instructional Effectiveness.

The speakers each took a turn speaking in their area of expertise, hoping to quell the many CCSS rumors that have been circulating, and hoping to take some of the mystery out of what the standards are and what they mean.

“The CCSS is a new set of standards for many states, but state standards in general are not a new idea,” Snider said. “We have had standards in Rhode Island for more than 20 years. Standards serve to set benchmarks and learning expectations at every grade level. Prior to the CCSS, Rhode Island had Grade Level Expectations [GLEs] at the elementary level and Grade Span Expectations [GSEs] at the secondary level. Massachusetts, Mississippi and Louisiana, and all the other states all had different standards. Students moving from one state to another could see vastly different standards and learning expectations from state to state.”

Snider went on to explain that in 2008 the governors of various states began to have discussions as to why each state had its own set of standards, and each state’s standards were assessed differently to measure student success in meeting those standards as well.

“The governors began to work with the commissioners of education to create a common set of standards. These standards, which eventually became the Common Core State Standards, are based on years of research on how students learn and on work that individual states had done as well as various educators, theorists, scientists and psychologists all over the world,” Snider said. “They looked to set clear and reasonable expectations in reading, writing and math from kindergarten through 12th grade and even worked with universities to be sure that kids had all they needed to be prepared for college, career pathways, technical careers or any other pathway they pursued once leaving high school.”

Snider went on to clear up a common misconception about the CCSS.

“The Common Core Standards are not a curriculum. They are just the learning expectations for each grade level. They do not dictate how to teach a concept or what materials to buy,” she said. “It’s the work of the individual school districts to get their students to those benchmarks so that they are prepared.”

Taylor expressed her support for the standards, coming from the perspective of a special educator.

“I really like the CCSS. It gives us a set of expectations for each grade level, a clear picture of the skills our students need to have, and it’s helped us tremendously with knowing what our students need to be doing,” Taylor said. “We needed more rigor. The Rhode Island remediation rate was so high. CCRI reported that 70 percent of their students needed to start with non-credit courses just for remediation. These standards help to prepare all students. The expectations have set rigorous standards at each grade level and makes good teaching more important than ever. Teachers can use multiple strategies, set up scaffolding and supports and differentiate instruction for their students.”

Snider reflected back to her early teaching years, beginning in the late 1970s and even earlier to when she was in school in the 1960s, and discussed the pendulum swings that took place at that time.

“There was ‘new math’ even in the 1960s as they talked about students needing to understand why things worked mathematically rather than just using rote memorization, but they didn’t do as good a job then as they’re doing with these new standards now and we switched back to a focus on computation only,” Snider said. “Now there is a balance between fluency and computational skills and conceptual understanding. Now there are fewer benchmarks, they are set higher and they are clearer than ever before. Teachers know at the beginning of the year where their students need to be going. The K-12 progression is laid out in a way that’s very helpful, and the teachers now know what’s expected before their grade level, after their grade level and in their own grade level. This demands more knowledge from teachers, and our teachers are being trained on how to be able to teach to the CCSS. It’s amazing to see the commitment and communication taking place between grade levels.”

Taylor spoke to the change in the English Language Arts component, which she saw taking place almost overnight. 

“I saw a change in the rigor, especially in the area of vocabulary and the readability of text. We need to expose all children to a more rigorous text, and we previously had not been challenging all children,” Taylor said. “For example, a book that used to be from the 10th grade curriculum, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ is now being read in the ninth grade. It requires us to look at our methods of teaching and pre-teaching and how we support our students. We need to accommodate and modify our lower students so that they can access these same materials. I see our students looking for rich vocabulary, which is embedded in these texts that they are reading.”

Taylor noted that in life, once students move out beyond their educational arena, many of the skills needed in life involve the reading of non-fiction texts, hence the heavier emphasis on non-fiction in the CCSS.

“People need to be able to access information from text, to follow directions, to glean information,” she said. “We tell our students now, ‘You can do this. It may be hard, you may have to go back and re-read, but don’t be so quick to say you can’t do it.’ It’s often from the struggle that the real learning takes place, and they need to be able to push through that struggle.”

Taylor said she also sees a shift in the teaching of individual students and their needs, with teachers working to challenge higher-level learners as well as supporting students who struggle. However, she said this is not all brand new.

“This is the work we have been doing for more than five years, and I feel very good about where we are now,” she said.

As the event moved into the question-and-answer period, parents began to bring up the questions they’d arrived with and hoping for specific answers.

When questioned about support and resources for parents who need a better understanding of the standards, several suggestions were made, including online resources such as the “Parent Roadmaps” option on the Council of Great City Schools website, which helps parents to better understand the standards. The Southern Rhode Island Collaborative’s “Live Binders” was also given as an online resource suggestion for parents looking to better understand the mathematics standards, units of study and other resources.

With the implementation of the PARCC testing program statewide, there were many concerns about the test, which in most districts is given completely online. The speakers were asked about opting out of the test and about the reasoning behind changing over from the NECAP testing option to PARCC, which is also known to be a much more rigorous test.

“There is no state law that says that your kids have to participate in the testing,” Almanzor said. “However, when you agree to have your kids participate in the state schools, you agree to follow the rules of those state schools. You participate in a social compact of sorts. Testing is a part of that school day, and those are part of the expectations, through both informal assessments and formal assessments. By federal law, our schools are held accountable to testing 95 percent of the students and we are asking parents to allow their students to be a part of that 95 percent for a true picture of our practices.”

Almanzor reminded parents that there are many other options out there for educating their students that could be explored for a better fit if they weren’t comfortable in public education, including homeschooling and private schooling options.

“We ask you to be a part of a partnership, not to opt out and not to be selective as to which parts of public education you’re allowing your kids to be a part of. It’s an important piece of our feedback and reflection, a piece of our data that would be lacking if we didn’t have that 95 percent,” she said. “Teachers will not be punished, however, if parents opt their students out. Students won’t be punished. The only zero being given would be in regards to that 95 percent participation level.”

In further regards to the new PARCC testing, the speakers noted that there are many more options available to educators to tailor the test-taking accommodations for those students with special educational needs, including having tests read aloud to them or even signed to them if need be. They also noted that an online test gives feedback to districts and classroom teachers much quicker, allowing them to re-mediate if necessary, whereas the NECAP results came in much too late in the year to be an effective tool.

Parents were reminded that the role of education is to prepare their students for the rigor of the world beyond their doors, and they encouraged parents to allow the students to be properly prepared for the expectations that will await them.

Almanzor elaborated on that thought near the end of the forum.

“As a special educator, I appreciate your concerns, but we have to remember that the world has expectations for all of our children, and the reality is that when they leave our homes and our schools there are going to be some expectations for them. Our job is to prepare them as best we can. Sometimes they need to be pushed. Sometimes they need to be taught to persevere. If they’re going to get their driver’s license, they need to be able to read at that level.”

Lynch agreed.

“Regardless of what the state assessments there are, at the time of graduation, our students need to be proficient at that level in order to be successful.”

Comments

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  • Justanidiot

    If youse don't understand edumacation, you can just take the bus. Mainline to headline writing 101.

    Thursday, December 4, 2014 Report this

  • Justanidiot

    Thanks. Reads much better now.

    Friday, December 5, 2014 Report this